Oldsmobile Aurora Maintenance & Repair

Comments

I noticed yesterday when I opened the trunk after a rainstorm that I had a few drips of water coming out from under the left side of the inside gray colored trunk cover (make sense?). Not much, but I stuck my finger in between the inside metal of the trunk and the gray covering, and it was moist. Any idea?

I own a 1997 Aurora. A few weeks ago my tachometer began bouncing (just the needle). The engine runs fine. I noticed that the tachometer needle quits bouncing around when voltage on the DIC is above 14.5 volts. My car's voltage fluctuates between 12.8 (on a humid day) & 14.0 volts on a dry day. When the voltage drops below 13 volts the speedometer & temperature needles begin bouncing around as well. Is there a component in the car that is supposed to keep the cars voltage constant? Everything works great when 14.5 or more volts is available.Please let me know.

There is a regulator in the alternator that prevents the voltage from getting too high. If it is too low, it's because the alternator isn't making enough voltage or something is sucking it all up. You can check for bad grounds, corroded battery cables, a dead battery and such, and then you may just have to get the alternator checked or replaced.

in today for what I thought was the ISS; it was making the clunking sound. Turned out to be the right front tie rod. Total cost with alignment-182.20. Lesson-don't assume it's the ISS, which is really not a safety issue, which a broken tie rod is. Just FYI.

With a bad CV joint, you would hear it when turning, I don't hear the clicking noise when I turn, only when I come at a stop, like at a stop light. Like you said the bearings would do a humming noise, then it might be something else, but I will have the CV checked to make sure it's not that either way.

Anyone know which fuse if pulled will totally shut down the Traction Control and not effect anything else ?

Seems like every 6 months or so one of my TC sensors that are attached on the wheel bearings goes bad and I have to replace the entire wheel bearing of course because the sensors arent seperate. The bearings are still good , but just for the sensor the whole unit needs to be replaced.

Ive decided to pull the light from behind the instrument panel the says " traction off" and just forget about the traction control all together. I never need it anyway and I usually turn it off when it does work. I can live without it and save money buying needless sets of wheel bearings.

If I just take my 95 Aurora in a Tire Kingdom or a Firestone to install rear shocks, would they do a good job and know what to install or do I need to bring anything special to their attention since that car has the self leveling shocks..?

Rear shocks are quite easy to replace and only takes a few hours if you have the time.There are quite a few posts on what kind to buy (AC Delco original equip. is best), what sites you can purchase them online, and the process to take the old ones off and swap on the new ones. The first shock took me about 45 min, the second was only about 30 min after figuring the first out.

When I pull my car in the garage for the night, I can "smell" a coolant smell. Engine runs normal temperature, coolant level ok, no leaks under car or around water pump, new radiator put in upon purchase (2000 miles ago). Is this normal on the V8? My 01 3.5 doesn't do this.

Anyone know if the cupholders in the front are covered under warranty, or are there any recalls on that?

My Aurora front cupholders won't close and I'm hopimg there covered under my warranty, also with the shifter light, you guys think it might be covered under the warranty, my cable snapped off or broke loose right at the base of the bulb housing.

If you smell coolant, you have a leak somewhere. My '97 had a leak in one of the radiator end tanks that was small enough that I never saw any liquid under the car. I found and repaired the leak after removing the top support bar. I'm not saying you have a leak in your new radiator, just that leaks can be small and hard to find. But the nose knows -- that smell is distinctive.

In addition to the upper and lower radiator hoses and heater hoses, you should check the two small hoses connected to the throttle body. Good luck.

I took my 97 into the local Cadillac dealership to have the alternator checked out (original message #2254). They said the alternator checked out fine. Based on driving another persons 98 model I know that the voltage is supposed to remain at around 14.3 to 14.8 volts. The guys at Cadillac were no help at all. I bought the car used for $6200 so it is not that big of a deal. It is frustrating to know that cars are so complex these days that even the mechanics cant diagnose what is wrong with them.

There was a TSB written about this for 1996 Model yrs. This repair was made at 6000 miles by another owner. The car has 129,000 and every so often the warning chime will go off for no apparent reason. Could this be happening again? What are the chances of the control module going bad again? Should GM cover the repair or even parts price? Thanks for your input.

I brought four fo the aftermarket wheel covers from an ebay seller. I am not happy with them. I have not put them on the car and they remain in the box that they came in. My issue is that the aftermarkets are slightly off center. therefore it never really fits snug and in alignment when put on the car. I can send you one if you want to see for yourself.

I second Henris opinion on the aftermarket center covers. I bought a set of four to go with some factory chrome wheels I bought and they were terrible. I coudlnt even get them to fit on the rim without cracking them in half. After I cracked two of them I just gave up and got OEM's from a GM wholesaler for like $25 a piece. It was worth it.

I got 2 silver centre covers for my 98 from eBay and the only difference - except for the price - is that the aftermarket ones say made in China and the originals say GM. They fit perfectly and look better than the originals.I guess you take a chance and I was lucky.

Well I recently got a rod out of my radiator along with a a complete system and block flush and new thermostat on my 95 Aurora with 106K miles($275), the temp was going up on the interstate and almost to the red, they did a flow and circulation/capacity test on the radiator and determined that it was dirty and clogged up, let me tell u what a difference in the temp now, I test drove it after the rod out and it never went over 200 degrees on the interstate at 90 mph for an hour, and it runs even cooler in town in the Florida heat, I highly recommend Aurora owners to get the radiator roded out if the temp is getting higher and might as well change the thermostat while they're in there,especially with high mileage and I even flushed the system once a year before summer time, lets not also forget that the transmission is cooled via the radiator, so if the radiator is not cooling, then the tranny is getting hot, I will change the tranny fluid next as it's not red like it used to be, I also replaced the rear shocks with Monroe air and the car is back to normal, I just have to take it in for the recall and I hope that oil leak doesn't get any worse..can anyone tell me what's the worse oil leak they've seen on that car, I think I'm gona have to live with the leak and just add oil, I'm know that it's not a cheap job, I just hope I never smell that burnt oil over the hot exhaust smell with the smoke, I can deal with a piece of carpet under in the engine on the garage floor.

A reporter is wondering if anyone has had trouble getting parts for cars and trucks from the 1985-1997 model year. If you have a story to share, please send it to jfallon@edmunds.com by Friday, November 19, 2004.Thanks!

Hey folks, I have a 96 aurora and the interior warning chimes are going off everytime I drive the car. Is there a way to disable this or what does it take to fix it? There are no warning lites on, I just listen to the dinger chirping away. Thanks for the help.

Nothing out of the ordinary on the driver info center. The ding is continual but once in a while it will stop for a couple seconds or the beat would change (if you know what I mean). There might be longer pauses in between each ding.What could this be telling me? I was still thinking it might be the "Malfunction alarm, lighting and lock module" but I am not sure. How can I tell? Thanks for anyones help.